Improvement in apparatus for regulating the supply of steam to steam-engines



2 Sheets- Sheet 1. J. B. G. KOCH 8v F. W. DURHAM. Apparatus forRegulating the Supply of Steam to Steam-Engines.

No. 218,541. Patented Au 12,1879.

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N. PETERS, PHOTO-UTHUGRAPNER. WASHINGTON. D C4 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. J. E.C. KOCH 8v P. W. DURHAM. Apparatus for Regulating the Supply of Steam toSteam-Engines. No. 218,541. Patented Aug. 12,1879.

n. PEIERS. PHOTO-UTHCGRAPMER, WASHINGTON, D C

yNTTED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

JOHN E. C. .KOCH, OF SOUTH KENSINGTON, COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX, AND

FREDERICK W. DURHAM, OF NEW BARNET, COUNTY OF HERTS, ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE SUPPLY 0F STEAM T0STEAM-ENGINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 218,541, dated August1'2, 1879; application filed October 28, 1878; patented in England,February 27, 1877.

. in the county of Herts, England, have invented an Improvement inApparatus for Regulating the Supply of Steam to Steam-Engines and dohereby declare that the following description,

taken in connect-ion with the accompanying drawings, hereinafterreferred to, forms a full and exact specification of the same, whereinwe have set forth the nature and principles of our said improvement, bywhich our invention may be distinguished fromothers of a similar class,together with such parts as we claim and desire to secure by LettersPatentf-th at is to say:

In large steam-engines it frequentlyr requires so much power to move thethrottle or other valve in the steam-pipe in Vorder to regulate thesupply of steam that an ordinary governor cannot be employed for thispurpose unless it is made very powerful, in which case 1t is not-sufciently sensitive to act efficiently under slight or suddenvariations of speed.

Our invention relates to means for effecting the regulation of thesteam-supply in such cases by the use of a comparatively small andsensitive governor, as we will now describe.

For this purpose, instead of connecting the governor directly to theregulating-valve, as is usually done, we connect it to the slide-valveof a small subsidiary steam-cylinder, the piston or plungerof which weconnect to the main regulating-valve of the engine. Thus the governorneeds only to have sufficient power to move the slide of the smallcylinder, so as to admit steam thereto, and the piston of this cylinderacts with the force necessary for operating the regulating-valve.

In order that the manner in which our invention can be carried intopractical operation may be the better understood, we have shown in theaccompanying drawings our mode of applying for this purpose a governorof known kind, whose action depends on the resistance of liquid to apaddle-wheel revolving therein, as described in the speciication ofLetters Patent granted to me, the said F. W. Durham,

and to Henry Howse, on the 27th of March, 1877, No. 188,876.

Figurel represents a longitudinal section, and Fig. 2 a front view, ofregulating apparatus according to our present invention applied to theworking of a throttle-valve in a steam-pipe, Fig. 3 being a part plan,showing the gearing of the governor. Fig. 4t is a vertical section,showing the modification of the apparatus which we employ when theregulation of the steam-supply is effected by a shutoff valve.

A is a spindle, which may be worked by gearing or by a belt and pulleyfrom the main shaft of the engine, being speeded thereto in any desiredproportion. On this 'spindle is fixed a bevel-wheel, c, gearing with twovbevelwheels, b, mounted on a block xed on a second spindle, B, which isin line with, but loose from, the spindle A.

The spindle B passes through a sleeve, C, on which are fixed twobevel-wheels, the one of which, c, gears with the wheels b, and theother c Gears with a bevel-wheel d on anl upright spindle, D. On thespindle D is fixed a paddle-wheel, E, within a casing, F, containingwater or other liquid, the said casing having tixed blades j',projecting inwardly from its sides, to prevent the liquid from acquiringa continuous rotary motion. The spindle B, continued forward, has liXedon it a pulley, G, connected by a chain, g, with a helical spring, H,the face of which can be adjusted by a screw, h. On the spindleB thereis also xed a pinion, K, which gears with a rack on the rod la of theslide of a subsidiary cylinder, L, which is supplied with steam from themain steam-pipe. The piston-rod l from the cylinder L is connected tothe lever of the throttlevalve M, either directly, asV shown in thedrawings, or it may be through suitable levers and rods when necessary.

The action of the apparatus is as follows: The spindle A, being causedto rotate, acts through the bevel-gearing a., b, c, c', and d, causingthe paddle-wheel E to rotate in the liquid in F. When, owing to excessof speed, the resistance to the rotation of E exceeds the force of thespring H, then the bevelwheels b are caused to revolve partly round thewheel e, as planet-wheels round a sun-wheel, and thus the spindle B ispartly turned in opposition to the spring H. The partial rotation of Band of its pinion K moves the slide-rod k and the slide attached to it,whereby steam is admitted into the cylinder L, to act on its piston,giving it such movement as to close, or partly close, the throttle-valveM, and so reduce the supply ot" steam to the main engine. When, inconsequence ot' the reduction ot' supply, the speed of the enginebecomes again moderated, the resistance to the paddle-wheel E becomeslcssened,and the spring II,aeting by the chain g on the pulley G, causesthe spindle B to turn backward, and the sliderod k to be thereby movedback, so as to cut ofi" or reverse the supply to the cylinder L, thethrottlevalve M heilig thus caused to remain where it had beenpreviously set or to reopen.

Instead of the bevel sun-aiul-planet gear shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 8,spur sun-aiul-planet gear may be employed t'or the governor, as shown bythe side elevation, Fig. 3^. According t0 this arrangement, a pulley orwheel, N, having internal cogs isdriven by straporother wise from theengine. lt revolves loosely on the shaft of the governorpaddle, and itsteeth gear with those ot' a pinion, p, which gears with a pinion, r,fixed on the shai't ot' the governor-paddle, which revolves within thecasin g F. The intermediate pinion, p, is mounted on e a lever, 1)whiohis linked to thesliderod k,

and also to an adjustable spring, S. The piston-rod l is linked, asbet'ore described, to the lever of the throttle-val ve M. By means ot' ahand screw-wheel the spring S is adjusted to such force that the lever Pis held stationary while the motion of N is conveyed through the pinionp to the pinion r and the paddle ot' the governor, 'causing it torevolve in the liquid within the casing. Should the engine-speed vary,then, the resistance of the paddle being correspondingly varied, thelever l is caused to move downward or upward, as the case may be,thereby moving the slide attached to k, and so determining the passageof steam to and from the cylinder L to act on the pistou in thatcylinder, and thereby alter the position ot' the throttle-valvcM in themain steampipe.

A shutoff valve may be employed for regulation of the supply, as showniu Fig. 4. In this case the cylinder L is fitted with a piston somewhatlai-ger in area than the valve N,and is supplied with steam, bythe pipe0, from the main steam-pipe. The slide-rod k being worked, as described,by a governor, steam is either admitted to or allowed to escape from thecylinder L, according` as the speed of the engine is increased ordiminished, and the valve N is thereby more or less closed or per mittedto open.

Having thus described the nature of' our invention, and the best meanswe know of carrynig it. into practical operation, we claim- Thecombination of the shaft A, carrying a belt-pulley and bevel-wheel, a,shaft B, carrying the block and bevel-wheels b b, the sleeve (l,carrying bevelwheels c c', paddle-wheel E, the shaft of which carriesbevel-Wheel d, the adjustable spring for regulating the movement ot'shaft Il, the cylinder L, having its slidc valve connected with saidshaft, and its piston-rod adapted for connection with the throttle-valveof a steanrengine, substantially kas described.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 5th day ot' 0c tober,1878.

JOHN EDWARD CAMPBELL KOCH. FREDERICK WILLIAM DURIIAM.

Witnesses:

ALBERT C. (l. HENRY, JNo. P. M. MILLARD.

